Just looking at bumper covers for my SL. All black with no undercoating and called my friendly Saturn dealership. Over $600! Found aftermarket on Fleabay for around $150 (delivered) but am leery of the quality. Anyone have any info on good/new bumper covers, possibly in the southern California area but not required? (Not looking for used, I have that and may end up going to Rock Auto) Thanks,

Why are you agianst used? I see black textured bumpers at the junkyard all the time that are in great shape.

I wrote Rock Auto, asking about their bumpers and was advised that their CAPA bumpers were the closest to OEM in fit and finish. Now, that implys to me that there is a problem with fit and finish with the less expensive or aftermarket bumpers. But I can't afford the dealer's price. My bumpers aren't all that bad and if it weren't for the shipping costs, I'd quickly risk the fit and finish problem, just to see if they look okay. Undecided what to do but the total for the Rock Auto bumpers would be about $260+. Not bad.

And I also see many used bumpers at the junkyard. All are faded out, like mine. Currently, I use Mother's "Back To Black" conditioner to bring them back to life and that really helps but it leaves an heavy oil on the bumpers. Every time I use my car cover, I transfer some of that oil to the paint and windshield of the car so having new bumpers that wouldn't do that would be nice, not to mention the better appearance. You must have seen many Saturns going down the road with sun-bleached gray bumpers? Nice bumpers would help a lot in the appearance and again, get rid of my "oil" problem.

I wrote Rock Auto, asking about their bumpers and was advised that their CAPA bumpers were the closest to OEM in fit and finish. Now, that implys to me that there is a problem with fit and finish with the less expensive or aftermarket bumpers.

No no no, that just implys that their POS is better than other POS that don't fit. So this one will almost work perfect, but you'll still find that it doesn't line up right or that there is still another imperfection. Go to a JY like LowSaturn said, you can normally find one that is completely fine. Might even find one in your color.

No no no, that just implys that their POS is better than other POS that don't fit. So this one will almost work perfect, but you'll still find that it doesn't line up right or that there is still another imperfection. Go to a JY like LowSaturn said, you can normally find one that is completely fine. Might even find one in your color.

I can live with minor imperfections but if the bumper doesn't line up correctly or doesn't seat flush to the fender, etc., that I wouldn't want. Junk yard is still a no go because, again, I have one of those already. It's not that I couldn't find one that isn't all marked up at the junk yard---I'm more concerned about the black color "fade". (again, I need an unpainted, black) If it weren't for that then yes, I'd get one from my favorite junk yard. God knows I'm in there often enough. Thanks for your info.

That one is a 2 piece right? I'm goning to need the top portion replaced.

I was leaning toward getting an aftermarket one just because I figured after being on one car for 14 years, a "donor car's" top portion might have taken a certain way to the bottom part it was fixed to just enough so it may not fit exactly to a different lower portion.

Do you think I might have more problems with an aftermarket one than a salvaged one?

Do you think I might have more problems with an aftermarket one than a salvaged one?

Just my opinion but the problem could work both ways. If you buy a "new" upper bumper cover, possibly it wouldn't fit well on the old lower bumper cover you have on the car now. But since the old upper bumper cover has been "fixed" in place all these years, and supported by the lower bumper cover, hopefully the size hasn't changed all that much. And I don't think it has. I don't think there would be a really big problem with fit.

But when you think of buying one from the junk yard, at least that one should have "shrunk" or "stretched" over the years, possibly fitting your old lower bumper better. And unless you are replacing the entire bumper cover, I'd, personally, go with the junk yard bumper just because you should be able to pick one that would color match the lower cover that's currently on your car. Good luck.